From major projects such as repairing the
residence hall roof, to smaller ones such as adding lighting to the Great Court, the Kettering
campus is going through a relatively high
amount of restoration activity. This can almost
certainly be at least partially attributed to one
of President McMahan’s visions for Kettering,
which Pat Engle, Kettering’s Facilities Management Director, described as, “Creating a
campus that students, faculty, and staff are
proud of”.
In conjunction with the current residence
hall roof replacement project, most of the rooms
on the top floor of the building are undergoing
water damage repair, and general renovation in
the process. This project includes fixing plaster,
re-painting, and laying new carpet. In terms of
a time-frame, it should be complete in time for
the new freshman to arrive in July.
In addition to the major residence hall renovations, Facilities Management at Kettering also
just went through the process of replacing the
outdated and highly inefficient chiller system
(air-conditioning) for the Academic Building
and Campus Center. It has been estimated
that this new system, which has the ability to
cool only certain parts of the buildings during
weekends or holidays, will pay for itself with
energy savings within six years. The campus
community was invited to tour the new chiller
plant earlier this month.
There are also several less notable, but still
important restoration projects that are either
currently in progress, or have been completed
recently. Some of these include the re-painting
of stairwells in the Campus Center, adding new

by Benjamin Archangeli

energy efficient lighting to the Great Court,
replacing bathroom stalls in the Academic
Building, and refreshing the landscaping beds
around campus with material taken from the

Some of the equipment used for the residence hall roof
construction. Photo courtesy of Facilities Management.

One of the recently refreshed landscaping beds in front of
the Academic Building.

residence hall roof.
Although not exactly a restoration project,
Facilities Management also recently installed
proximity readers on the commonly used exterior doors for all of the campus buildings. In
addition to the proximity readers, this security
centered project included installing a “door
bell” system at the main entrance to the Campus Center which will allow Campus Safety
to view and communicate with visitors before
letting them in.
In an effort to work more towards creating a campus that students, faculty, and staff
are proud of, the following comment has been
placed at the end of recent Facilities Focus
newsletters. “Do you see a place on campus in
need of repair, maintenance or housekeeping
attention? We want to know about it. Contact
Pat Engle, director of Facilities Management,
at pengle@kettering.edu or (810) 762-9773. Together we can make this campus shine!” A problem that you see on campus may not always be
known by Facilities Management, so be sure to
notify them if something is in need of repair.
All of this recent Kettering restoration is
fitting in nicely with the “Chevy in the Hole”
clean-up project. As part of this project, the
city of Flint recently planted over 1,000 trees
to improve the appearance and decrease the
contaminants at the concrete wasteland next to
Kettering that previously held General Motors
factories. The restoration of this area, which
is still in progress, will greatly improve the
general appearance of the area surrounding
the campus.

Flint Politics

It is easy to forget in the flurry of exams,
term papers, pledging, and intramurals, the
civic duties we have as student residents of
our host city: Flint. I understand there is little
student sympathy for Flint politics, and my
proposition of requesting students to perform
their civic duties may seem unrealistic--chances
are most of you cannot vote on city legislation
and are not willing to spend a night at the Occupy Flint camp. But luckily for Flint, being
students lends us an opportunity to perform
our civic duties in a more enjoyable way.
First, think about the Kettering Student
Government. All students pay an activity fee,
then the collective funds are distributed to
clubs, events, and media outlets. Although you
may not be on the Finance Council, you still
have control over the distribution of funds. Your
signature at meetings and events helps ensure
clubs receive the necessary funds to continue
paying for SCUBA certifications, climbing trips,
autocrosses, and of course, pizza. An active
student life attracts prospective students, increasing the opportunities for all students. You
perform your civic duties for KSG by spending
your time doing what you enjoy.
In a similar fashion the Flint government
has funds to distribute. However, for lawmakers to decide how to distribute them is much
more complicated than the KSG analogy.
There are financial obligations, infrastructure
demands, social programs, and citizen protec-

tion services all lobbying for narrowing funds.
The recent challenges of Flint’s finances has
required State intervention by appointment
of Emergency Manager Michael Brown in November 2011.
The ultimate purpose of appointing an EM
is to expedite financial decisions to quickly
return the government to a point of stability
by paying off debts and balancing the budget.
Michigan’s Emergency Manager legislation was
first passed in the late 80’s, however Public Act
4, passed in March 2011 under leadership of
Governor Snyder, grants EM’s what many are
arguing unconstitutional power. Such as the
ability to remove power and garnish wages of
elected officials.
Upon appointment of EM Michael Brown,
new austerity measures have posed a threat
to essential public services which has some
people questioning the democratic power of
Flint citizens. The Michigan Court of Appeals
is currently reviewing the repeal of Public Act
4 by the Stand Up For Democracy Coalition
which collected over 200,000 signatures to get
a repeal proposal on the ballot this November.
Whether you agree, disagree, or don’t care
about the Emergency Manager law, it is our
civic duty as students to create a demand for our
well being and well being of our community.
We create this demand through our community
involvement, purchasing power, and presence
on the streets. Just as you regularly attend club

events and meetings, regularly be a part of the
Flint community--check a book out at the Flint
library, take a bus ride, eat a burger at the Torch,
see a show at the Machine Shop, buy groceries
from the Farmer’s Market, wander around during the next Art Walk, see a movie at the Flint
Institute of Arts, or just walk to this weekend’s
house party.
Ultimately, I am sympathetic towards the
State passing the Emergency Manager Act and
the local governments and citizens fighting it. In
both arguments, the goal is for the government
and people to prosper. However, I believe it is
first the responsibility of the people to exercise
their power as the people and be involved in the
community. Just as KSG needs your participation to justly distribute funds, so does the city
of Flint.

The Final Exam Schedule for
Spring 2012 has been posted.
Visit http://goo.gl/X4Ugb to
view the latest version.

Page 2

Kettering University - The Technician
May 23, 2012

Campus News

Lava.io: Entrepreneurship In Action

by Mike Kochis

Editor’s Note: Kettering’s TeamWorks office in the Mott
Center is currently hosting a group of young entrepreneurs
that recieved a $3,000 Kettering Entreprenuer Society
grant to assist them with the development of a new
website. This article, which was written by the Manager
of the website, describes what the site is and why it was
created.

The future of the web is real-time. The current state of the Internet focuses on commented
posts, which don’t promote natural discussion.
Furthermore, mobile users are able to consume
mass amounts of media, but it is often difficult
to engage in meaningful and thought-provoking discussion from a smartphone or tablet.
Lava’s purpose is to organize social media in
real-time and promote discussion about that
media with both your friends and strangers
on the Internet.
The primary goal of Lava is to create a
rich, real time experience for users. Currently,
the Internet feels like you’re “writing graffiti
on a wall” instead of talking directly to a few
selected friends or a group of people with a specific interest. To avoid this aimless graffiti-ing,
each “volcano”, will have a particular focus. In
a ”volcano”, you’ll be able to discuss something
you are passionate and not have to sort through
non-similar information.
Lava (www.lava.io) is a new social news
platform that focuses on sharing and discussing
media (videos, music, news, etc) in real-time.
Lava allows you to discuss and share your
interests with your friends via “cliques” and
also interact with others via “volcanoes,” or a
category of media. Lava will provide the glue to
connect everyone on Internet in real time, from
their desktop, web browser, or mobile app.
By design, Lava streamlines the process of
discovering, sharing, and consuming informa-

tion on the Internet. Lava brings content to the
user, rather than leaving the user with the task
of seeking out the content; thus, users are more
likely to experience a wider range of content
when that content is seamlessly presented to
them.
The user experience is defined by story
grids and live chat. When a user visits the front
page, they encounter the main story grid; all of
the heavily discussed topics will appear here.
Furthermore, the story grid will always be updating. Upon mousing over a story thumbnail,
a user has the options to vote on a story, as well
as share with people in a “clique”, on Facebook,

Twitter, etc. If a user clicks on a story, the will
be taken to the story view. The volcano story
grid will operate similar to the front page, but
all content will be particular to a topic. Within
a story grid, a user has the option to click on a
specific story, and be taken to the story view.
When a user clicks on a story, they are taken
to that story’s view. A story view consists of
three basic items: (1) an info box (title, user,
date, etc), (2) the media (YouTube video, news
article, etc), and (3) the real-time discussion of
that media.
The last primary feature is cliques. Users
can create a clique, which is similar to a story
view, but instead of being focused around a
particular topic, it is focused around a group
of people.
Lava’s team consists of three members: Billy
Lindeman, Eric Barch, and Mike Kochis. Billy
and Eric are developers, while Mike manages

New Vice President
Courtesy of University Communications

Kettering University President Robert K. McMahan announced the appointment of Kip
Darcy as the new Vice President
for Marketing, Communications
and Enrollment at Kettering University in Flint, Mich., beginning
April 16.
“Kip possesses a record of
leadership in student recruitment, strategic communications,
institutional messaging and
project coordination that makes
him ideally suited to lead our
Admissions, Marketing, Communications, and Financial Aid
efforts,” President McMahan said.
Darcy said he is thrilled to be joining the
University. “I am looking forward to working
with the members of the Kettering community to evangelize the educational innovation
Kettering delivers in the areas of Business,
STEM and cooperative education,” Darcy said.
He previously directed admissions for both
the Washington University School of Law and

the University of California Hastings College of Law. At Hastings,
he directed the nation’s 10th largest
law school admissions and financial
aid operation. In these roles he also
developed and implemented successful national and international
student recruitment programs,
McMahan said.
Most recently, he managed field
enablement and communications
for Blue Coat Systems, Inc. At Blue
Coat Systems, he developed a communications strategy and organization for a technology-focused 400+
member field team. Darcy also spent several
years with HP Software, where among other
programs he was responsible for expanding
technology initiatives to micro banking organizations in Africa.
Darcy holds both an MBA and a Master’s of
Art degree in International Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis.
He is from San Francisco.

Submission Policy

The Technician welcomes submissions from Kettering
University students, faculty, and staff as long as writers identify
themselves and their affiliation with the University and provide
contact information. No anonymous submissions will be accepted.
Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Technician
staff or of Kettering University. We reserve the right to edit for
length. Kettering University is a private institution; as such, it need
not extend freedom of speech protection as described in the First
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Submissions must be sent electronically to
btechnician@kettering.edu.

operations. We’re avid tech enthusiasts and instead of simply signing up or buying the newest
thing, we are making it.
Billy Lindeman, Chief Executive Officer
and Developer, has intimate knowledge of web
platforms, mobile app development, and social
media websites. He was worked various contracts for startups as well as making internal applications for local businesses. In his free time,
Billy enjoys playing acoustic guitar and piano.
Eric Barch, Chief Technology Officer and
Developer, has always been fascinated by
technology and building anything out of everything. His projects have been featured on
Slashdot and Hack-a-day. Additionally, he attends Maker Faire annually as an exhibitor and
volunteers his time mentoring FIRST Robotics
students. Eric has experience working on radio
apps for both iOS and Android platforms, as
well as maintaining the back-end for such applications.
Mike Kochis, Chief Operating Officer and
Manager, has experience in a variety of roles
in different industries: planning & development (mass auto manufacturing), project
management (web marketing), and information technology (small scale auto engineering,
franchising). On a more personal level, Mike
enjoyed computer gaming and creating simple
websites while growing up. His interests now
lie in driving his Jeep and always trying new
things (especially while travelling!).
The Lava team received a $3,000 grant from
Kettering Entrepreneur Society and is working
out of the TechWorks office in the Mott building. We’re slated to become our own co-op
employer (haven’t finalized the paperwork yet)
and started working full-time on March 26.

Professional Writing
Assistance Now Available
by Matt Gessler, Editor-in-Chief

Kettering recently made a new hire in an
effort to help students that are either struggling
with writing assignments, or simply looking
for professional feedback. Megan Breidenstein,
hired from the University of Michigan – Flint
to help students with writing composition, will
be available in the Student Academic Resource
Center (SARC) every weekday with the exception of Wednesday during the following hours:
Monday: 2pm – 8pm
Tuesday: 12pm – 5pm
Thursday: 3pm – 8pm
Friday: 12pm - 5pm

Colophon

The Technician is published triweekly by the students of
Kettering University and financed, in part, by the Kettering
University Student Activities Fee.

Kettering University’s Dr. Corneliu Rablau, associate professor of Physics, became the
chair-elect of the Ohio-Region Section of the
American Physical Society (OSAPS) during
the spring meeting at Ohio State University in
Columbus, April 13-14.
In that capacity, he recently attended the
American Physical Society (APS) Unit Convocation in Washington D.C., a three-day program
that brought together the executive officers
of the various sections, divisions and forums
of APS with the major goal of discussing the
strategic plan put forward by the APS executive leadership.
As part of the program, Dr. Rablau also
participated in a Congressional Visit Day, a
grass-roots lobby effort sponsored by APS
aimed at increasing Congress support for robust
budgets for the federal agencies that fund scientific research and STEM education, such as the
National Science Foundation (NSF), National
Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) and the Department of

Energy (DOE) Office of Science.
The visit on Capitol Hill included extensive
discussions on scientific research and STEM
education issues with the staffers in charge
of science in the offices of U.S. Senator Carl
Levin (D-Mich.), U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow
(D-Mich.), U.S. Representative John Dingell
(D-Mich.), as well as a meeting with U.S. Congressman Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) and his science
staffer.
The message conveyed to the members of
the Congress was that robust, sustained and
predictable federal support for the science agencies that provide the foundation for discovery,
innovation, entrepreneurship and education of
the future technical force is critical for the future
competitiveness of the United States in the face
of increasing global competition, and should be
a priority of the federal budget, Rablau said.
He noted that in Congressman Kildee’s
office on Capitol Hill, “it was refreshing to be
greeted in the lobby of the Congressman’s office
by a teddy bear wearing a Kettering University

T-shirt. I knew I was in friendly territory,” he
added.

Kettering’s Dr. Corneliu Rablau (far left) is pictured with
David Anderson, chair of the APS Forum for Graduate
Studies, Congressman Dale Kildee, Dr. Georg Raithel,
professor of Physics at the University of Michigan, and
Tyler Glembo, of the American Physics Society. Photo
courtesy of Dr. Rablau

The Kettering University Acoustics Laboratory, in all
of its cluttered glory.

The vault here is filled with sound absorbent foam,
eliminating all echo and ambient noise. Being inside
really is a spooky experience.

Kettering IT’s current server cluster. They’re
in the process of some remodeling and back-end
reconfiguration at the moment. Pardon the mess.

The Robotics Lab on the 1st Floor of the Academic
Building. The four robots here are each named after a
different member of The Beatles.

This robot follows lines of tape that wind around all
of the different areas of the Robotics Lab.

There’s an old GMI labeled Corvette in one of the
garages next to the Fishbowl on the 1st Floor. Why?
We’re not exactly sure...

One of the work stations in the Welding Lab on the 1st
Floor of the Academic Building.

A work station in the Lego Lab on the 1st Floor of the
Academic Building. The students in this class appeared
to be building combination locks.

Engine parts and other clutter from the garages on the
Academic Building’s 1st Floor. Here, it’s really easy to
see remnants from Kettering’s days as GMI.

Page 4

Kettering University - The Technician
May 23, 2012

Campus Life

by Ryan Dontje, Copy Editor

WKUF Live Events

Pictures taken from the Bass N1xx1N and Free Will
concerts on 4/27 and 5/11 respectively. Both events were
hosted by WKUF and recordings are available online on
the station’s SoundCloud account.

Adopt-A-Pet Adventures

by Ashwin Chacko, staff

May 12, 2012 marked the third annual
Adopt-A-Pet Community Service event hosted
by Beta Theta Pi and realSERVICE. The AdoptA-Pet facility in Fenton, MI once served as the
residence for the Betas on campus in the days of
old when Kettering used to be called GMI. This
year, the collaboration between realSERVICE
and the Betas was aimed at ensuring this was
a campus-wide service event and was open to
everybody who wanted to help the community.
Giving everyone a chance to play with the puppies and kittens at the facility was a welcome
addition.
Being a non-profit corporation, Adopt-APet relies largely on volunteers to come take
care of the animals and help with the maintenance of the property. In the past year alone,
Adopt-A-Pet Inc. found homes for over 677
cats and dogs. This was made possible only
through volunteer involvement and the dedication of the staff at the facility, who work with
the animals every day to ensure that they stay
in the best of health and are adopted by good,
loving families.
The event saw a Kettering student participation of twenty-five people, which can be considered a success by Kettering service standards.

The event did get rained out by noon, which
unfortunately cut the volunteer involvement
in half. This would have brought the numbers
closer to the forty mark, which would have
been consistent with previous years. Overall,
the event was a great success, with both the
volunteers and the animals benefiting greatly
from the experience. We can be sure that this
event will continue as a Kettering tradition
and will continue to be just as much fun in the
years to come.

The front end of the Adopt-A-Pet facility. Photo provided
by Ashwin Chacko.

Sigma Chi Update
by Clayton Roehrig

Earlier this month (May 5th), the Sigma
Chi fraternity participated in several different community service events. Eight
of our brothers and pledges participated
in the “Kids Who Care” event with the
Humane Society in Flint. At this event we
had individuals directing parking, doing
registration, and leading the children that
were participating in the event. We also
stayed afterwards to clean up. While all of
that was going on, there were other brothers and pledges that did yard work such as
mulching in preparation for the spring season at brothers’ houses. A third event was
also being partaken in that same day. This
was an event for the community of Flushing
in which a trail is being created in the city.
We performed a variety of jobs during the
event to help with the trail building. Hopefully this type of community service can be
continued throughout the remainder of the
term as we have more events scheduled.

Kettering University - The Technician

Page 5

May 23, 2012

Campus Life

Courtesy of University Communications

SAE Hosts Two Competitors

Kettering University’s SAE Motorsports
Formula Team has extended the hand of friendship and collegiality to one of its competitors in
the SAE International Collegiate Design Series
at the Michigan International Speedway, in
Brooklyn, Mich., May 9 to 12.
The Kettering team has hosted the team
from Rennstall Esslingen, Germany, in their garage since April 27. The German team had their
competition vehicles and spare parts shipped to
the University in time to finalize preparations
for the competition.
Additionally, Kettering’s team will also host
the Metropolia Motorsport Helsinki, Finland,
team and a team from the University of South
Florida between the competition at Michigan
International Speedway and the follow-up
“Toronto Shootout” May 24-27.
“This is a great experience for the younger
team members to learn from the top performing teams in the world,” said Joseph Palazzolo,
team leader for Kettering SAE MotorsportsFormula. “I wanted our team to carry some
of that knowledge forward in future competitions,” he added.
With the usual pre-competition time crunch,
Palazzolo said the teams have not had much opportunity to socialize. “Within the next week,
as the cars are prepped and ready, there will be
a little more time to take a breather during the
beginning day or two of competition,” he said.
In addition to collegiality on an international level, Kettering’s team also has internal
collegiality with nine A-Section and seven BSection students on the team, which means almost half the team travels back to campus during their work term on evenings and weekends
to work on the vehicle. Three of the Kettering
team members are German foreign exchange

challenge teams of university undergraduate
and graduate students to conceive, design, fabricate and compete with small, formula style,
autocross vehicles. Teams typically spend eight
to 12 months designing, building, testing and
preparing their vehicles before a competition.
The competitions themselves give teams the
chance to demonstrate and prove both their
creation and their engineering skills in comparison to teams from other universities around
the world.
Over the course of three days, the vehicles
are judged in a series of static and dynamic
events including: technical inspection, cost,
presentation, and engineering design, solo
performance trials, and high performance track
endurance. The events are scored to determine
how well the car performs. In each event, the
manufacturing firm has specified minimum
acceptable performance levels that are reflected
in the scoring equations.
In addition to Kettering and Esslingen, 118
other vehicles from colleges and universities
throughout the world will compete in the May
10 to 12 event, including teams from Venezuela, South Korea, United Kingdom, Singapore,
Finland, Austria and Canada. Michigan teams
include Ferris State University, Kettering University, Michigan State University, Oakland
University, University of Michigan, University
of Michigan Dearborn, Lawrence Tech and
Western Michigan University.
Read more on this year’s Formula SAE
Competition:
For more information about the 2012 Formula SAE Michigan competition, including a
full schedule of events, visit http://students.sae.
The Kettering SAE team poses with the Rennstall Esslingen org/competitions/formulaseries/fsae/.

students from Esslingen University studying
for a term at Kettering.
Palazzolo said the team is hopeful that
changes in their vehicle this year, including
switching from a Honda 450 TRX to a Yamaha
WR450F engine and a carbon fiber undertray, will help them at the competition. The
design feature of the carbon fiber under-tray
has improved the vehicle chassis rigidity by 30
percent. The tray is attached to the steel frame
chassis using a special adhesive, according to
Palazzolo.
The change in engines was made possible
by a “generous donation of two motorcycles
from Yamaha which positively influenced our
engine budget and allowed the team to direct
those funds to other systems in need,” said
Palazzolo. The donation of the motorcycles
enabled the team to tear down and use not only
the engines, but also other components that
would be beneficial to use on the race car, an
important feature for the team in the Business
Plan part of the competition.
The Formula SAE ® Series competitions

team. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications

Taste of Diversity - 2012
Last Thursday, students celebrated the diversity among
the Kettering population at an event known as Taste of
Diversity. At the start of this event, several ethnic food
choices from around the world were served buffet style
to everyone in attendance. Several activities such as a
chop-stick competition, Simon Says, and musical chairs
kept everyone entertained as they finished their food. An
ethnic dance and a language competition were also used to
show event participants some unique aspects of different
countries or cultures. As seen by the surrounding
pictures, the large number of students in attendance
seemed to enjoy themselves at this successful event.

Page 6

Kettering University - The Technician
May 23, 2012

Beyond Kettering
by Benjamin Archangeli, staff

Flint Bike Tour

On Saturday, May 19th, Flint bike enthusiasts supporting the League of Michigan
Bicyclists hosted the first Tour of Flint. The
day was split into two casual rides, each about
15 miles. The first loop began at 10 am from
Good Beans Cafe on Grand Traverse Avenue
and headed north through Carriage Town
into the Kearsley Park neighborhood, looping
back around through the Miller Mansions and
Mott Park Neighborhood. The purpose of the
ride was to promote safe bike travel in Flint
by showing bikers low traffic roads, dedicated
bike lanes, and bike paths. The Tour attracted
about fifty riders, including students, families,
and longtime Flint residents.
The main message that the Tour of Flint
imparted is that bike travel in Flint is a practical and rewarding mode of transportation.
Recently painted bike lanes and sharrows allow
for easy movement around the city, particularly
in the Downtown area. From Kettering’s campus there are several ways to safely travel about
the city. To head Downtown, taking University
Avenue, the Flint River Trail, or Kearsley Street
will get you there safely in relatively the same
time. Once in the Downtown area there are an

by Benjamin Archangeli, staff

The cyclists take a quick break from their tour of Flint.
Photo courtesy of David Thiriez.

increasing number of streets which are being
tagged with dedicated lanes or sharrows.
As with any form of transportation, there
are risks that should be addressed. First, all
riders should be sure their bicycle is properly
maintained and that they take along the necessary tools to fix any problems that may occur.
A kit with allen wrenches, patches or spare
tube, and a travel pump should be sufficient for
most riders. Make sure to practice all routine

maintenance procedures before heading out
on the road, and be sure to get into a safe area
before stopping to take care of a bike. Flint has
its dangers; do not become a victim by stopping
to fix a flat in an unsafe area of town. Also, take
care to avoid road hazards--the roads in Flint
are bumpy, and road gutters and washouts are
often filled with metal and glass pieces.
Most importantly, remember that riding a
bike is equivalent to an automobile. Ride with
the flow of traffic and follow all laws of the
road. Use hand signals when stopping and
switching lanes or turning. There will always
be the inconsiderate driver that speeds by while
honking, but do not encourage that behavior.
Anyone who currently has a bike on campus or is considering bringing one in the future
should take their own Tour of Flint. Be cautious,
but have fun; feel the burn in the thighs when
climbing up Chevy Avenue and the rush of flying down it, show off helmet hair and spandex
shorts, and help the bike movement in Flint gain
a little more traction!

Restaurant Review: The Lunch Studio

Among all the new restaurants, bars, shops,
and art galleries opening in downtown Flint
you’ll find The Lunch Studio, comparatively
one of Saginaw St.’s elder residents. The sandwich shop and cafe has been located at 444 S
Saginaw St. just across the street from the main
parking lot since 2001.
The Lunch Studio is your typical sandwich
shop, offering all the classics and some more,
but with a commitment to quality and healthy
ingredients. The shop opened as an alternative
to the swarm of fast food restaurants around
Flint. If on the go, the friendly staff can make a

quick sandwich, but I found it quite enjoyable
to sit and relax for a while. The dimly lit dining
space gives the feel of an art studio, hence the
name--raw,brick walls are covered with local
art, the hand-painted chairs and tables are an
odd, eclectic mix, and a corner of the shop is
dedicated to local craft artists selling jewelry,
soaps, and knit hats.
The hours make it difficult to enjoy anything
besides lunch, but it makes for a good escape
if you have an afternoon free. Check out their
menu on their website www.flintlunchstudio.

com or give them a call at 810-424-9868. They
are open Monday through Thursday 8am to
4pm, Friday 8am to 7pm, and Saturday 11am to
3pm.

Kettering University - The Technician

Page 7

May 23, 2012

Entertainment

Logic Puzzles

by Rebeccah MacKinnon, staff

Attack in the
Afternoon
Bunchy, the rabid squirrel, arrived on the scene of a hor-

rific murder. An elderly man had been attacked and beaten
to death in his study with a golf club. Blood from the broken
man and glass from the broken study window was everywhere. The dead man’s nephew was the one to find him.
“I was a little early for Friday night dinner with my
uncle,” he said. “When I got no answer at the door, I went
around to the study window since I could see a light on. It
took me a second to wipe the frost off the window. When
I looked in, I saw a masked man beating my uncle with a
golf club! I must have made a noise or something, because
the man looked straight at me and ran. He probably got out
through the back door while I was breaking the window to
get to my uncle.”
After hearing the nephew’s story, Bunchy immediately had him arrested. How did the squirrel know that the
nephew was the murderer?

Ok, I’ll admit it: I have a hard time seeing what
the big deal of Tim Burton is about, which makes
it a little hard for me to enjoy his work at times.
That being said, I can understand what would
make Dark Shadows appealing to people who are
not me; the concept is interesting, the characters
are weird, and there is plenty of unconventional
humor that kept the people around me pretty
entertained. Still, I could not help but feel that the
movie was missing that special something that
would have propelled it to classic status.
Johnny Depp stars as Barnabus Collins, a man
turned into a vampire and locked in a coffin for
200 years by a scorned witch played by Eva Green.
Waking up in the 1960s, Barnabus embarks on a
journey to rebuild his family’s legacy and become
closer to his distant relatives who now inhabit his
former home. Depp gets most of the screentime
and content here, which is not unexpected. He
plays the typical quirky, fish out of water character
that he does well, a performance that is starting to become almost too routine. There
were numerous points in the film when I wondered if I was just watching a spin
off story about Vampire Captain Jack Sparrow. Eva Green plays her character well,
deftly portraying the witch whose stalker-like obsession with Barnabus provides the
film’s main conflict. Her character is fun and has the right combination of sex appeal
and insanity to keep her a constantly interesting part of the story. It’s obvious that
Green’s had fun with the role, giving a vibrant life to what could have easily been
a one note character.
The rest of the characters serve their purposes well, but none of them really
experience a significant character arc and some of them come close to fading from
the story altogether. Michelle Pfeiffer is great as the stern matriarch of the current
generation of Collins. It’s too bad we never really see too much of her throughout
the movie. The same goes for Helena Bonham Carter, who portrays Pfeiffer’s live in
psychologist. Bella Heathcote’s character initially looks to be the film’s protagonist,
providing a character for the audience to relate to; however, as soon as Depp shows
up, she practically disappears until a lame love story at the end. Of interesting note,
however, are the interesting cameos in the film, including, strangely enough, Alice
Cooper.
The effects in the film are well done and rarely broke my sense of immersion by
seeming either too fake or too complex for what the scene called for. Despite this, the
writing seems pretty similar to Burton’s other films, which just didn’t seem to click
for me. The jokes felt forced and a lot of them seemed to rely on Depp’s character,
which just didn’t feel all that unique. I felt like I’d seen most of this before in a different context, which also helped make some points in the story feel a little predictable.
The soundtrack, on the other hand, was pretty excellent, and includes a perfect mix
of gothic horror and awesome 60’s tunes, including artists such as The Moody Blues,
T. Rex, and Black Sabbath.
With all of these elements that seem to be done right, why is it then that I’m
still not jumping up and down to give this a glowing rating? I just didn’t really feel
drawn in by this vampire’s story, which made it difficult to care about the characters
or what happened to them. It just seemed to all fall flat. By the film’s climax, I was
honestly a little bored and was just waiting for the film to end so I could go home.
Aside from a few left field turns at the very end of the movie, nothing gripping ever
seemed to happen. Events don’t seem to have weight.
Overall, the film is an interesting concept but doesn’t seem to have any emotional
content behind it to give it some impact. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp’s collaborative
formula, which has worked so well in the past, seems to be showing signs of overuse.
The tropes are becoming less refined and easier to spot, and the film suffers for it.
Dark Shadows is an interesting way to spend an evening. You’ll most likely enjoy it,
but you probably won’t remember much of it once the credits are done.

Kettering Memes of the Month

Undecided on where to live next term?

Your college experience has a lot to do with where you choose to
live. MAKE IT COUNT! Riverfront Residence Hall sits in the heart of
downtown Flint. With quick access to campus and amenities galore,
this is the place to really enjoy college life. Whether you’re looking
for comfort, convenience, or fun WE HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED!
A MENITIES I NCLUDE :
 spacious lobby
 quiet study rooms
 wireless internet
 game & lounge areas
 movie theatre room
 fitness center, and more!
1 Riverfront Center W | Flint, MI 48502 | P: 810.239.1234 | F: 810.244.3253 | E:info@flintstudenthousing.com